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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24960019">Vendetta</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/beforesundown/pseuds/beforesundown'>beforesundown</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Vendetta [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>NCT (Band)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Enemies to Lovers, Fluff, High School AU, JaeYong - Freeform, M/M, Underage Drinking, baekyong, jealous Jaehyun, rivals au</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-07-01</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-07-01</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-04 10:14:50</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Underage</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>17,472</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24960019</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/beforesundown/pseuds/beforesundown</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Taeyong will do just about anything to get accepted into Seoul National University, and so will Jaehyun.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Byun Baekhyun/Lee Taeyong, Jung Yoonoh | Jaehyun/Lee Taeyong, Kim Dongyoung | Doyoung/Nakamoto Yuta</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Vendetta [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1817914</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>49</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>342</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Vendetta</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>There is absolutely nothing else in the world Taeyong hates more than matcha, except maybe Jung Jaehyun – captain of the football team and heir to JJ Holdings. Tall, white, and handsome, athletic, intelligent, and the crème de la crème – born on valentine’s day. The bastard had to bag everything in a 12-year old’s dream boy checklist. To his defense, he isn’t plainly hating on the boy just for having it all. Jung Jaehyun has been nothing but a pain in the ass since middle school. He’s all around the place taking what is supposed to be Taeyong’s, and he’s not just going to sit down and let him take his cake.</p><p>“You’re doing it again,” Doyoung comments from beside him on the bleachers. Taeyong gives him a look. “You’re glaring at Valentine Boy.”</p><p>“Ugh, stop calling him that. Gives me more reasons to hate Valentines Day,” he shifts so that his gaze is elsewhere and not on the bane of his existence. He adjusts his grip on his sandwich before he sees Yuta running toward the bleachers where they’re sitting and gives Doyoung a peck.</p><p>“So, you guys think we have a chance against the Badgers?” Yuta asks, panting through his uniform having just come out of practice. His hair drips of sweat at the ends, and the helmet on his hand hangs loosely before he sets it down on the bleachers and sits beside Doyoung.</p><p>“Babe, you know we know absolutely nothing about football,” Doyoung beams at him and they fall into a lighthearted conversation about how the team has been working so hard for this season. The Badgers aren’t an easy team to play against, but it’s not like they can’t handle them at all.</p><p>“Especially with Jaehyun being captain,” Yuta takes a bite out of Doyoung’s sandwich as he explains. “Jaehyun’s a real pain in the ass as captain but the team’s never been stronger,” Taeyong rolls his eyes. Ever since sophomore year started, everyone’s been talking about how much Valentine Boy has been taking all the biggest achievements on campus. Captain of the football team, president of the student council, football MVP, Mayor’s Honorary Award for 2019, you name it. Of course, Taeyong is just as much an achiever as the other is, Prime Minister’s Secondary School Awardee, Seoul’s Prodigy of the Year award for the past 2 years, and some other stuff he can’t even remember.</p><p>But he doesn’t know exactly why he hates his guts, maybe he wants to be student council president too, maybe he just wants to crush Jung Jaehyun and see the look on his face when he takes all his titles away. Taeyong can’t quite pinpoint it but he just hates seeing the other’s dimples when he smiles and the way his auburn hair sways in the wind and parts in the middle when he runs around the field chasing that stupid football.</p><p>He doesn’t realize he’s staring again until the subject of his attention comes up to the bleachers and snaps him out of it. “Care to tell me why you’re in my territory?” Taeyong stands up from the bleachers just so Jaehyun is a few heads shorter than him, a privilege he doesn’t have against the other.</p><p>“Oh, don’t worry, I’m not taking football away from you. It’s the only thing your staggering IQ can afford,” Taeyong signals Doyoung for them to leave before the other can retort, but the other is busy cooing at Yuta’s ‘injuries’ to even spare him a glance.</p><p>“Taeyong, if you wanted to be student council president you should’ve ran for the position. Or did you think secretary was the highest position on the council?” he glares at the other in return.</p><p>“Oh humble yourself you abominable shit goblin, everyone knows the student body only voted for you because of your 6-pack.”</p><p>“So you saw it.”</p><p>“What?”</p><p>“You saw the picture I posted on Instagram,” Taeyong gives him an incredulous look.</p><p>“Fortunately, no. Doyoung did and told me all about it, now if you’ll excuse us.” Taeyong grabs his backpack and walks away from the scene a mere 2 feet away but stops abruptly when he doesn’t feel Doyoung catching up beside him. He looks back to see him straddling Yuta in a heated make out session in broad daylight, in the middle of the fucking field.</p><p>“Doyoung!” Taeyong bellows before the other is running towards him. Doyoung unwillingly parts his lips with Yuta but not before throwing a ‘call me’ while trying to catch up with the other.</p><p>Yuta lets out a laugh and turns to Jaehyun. He sees the other’s eyes closely following the two figures moving farther away from them.</p><p>“Hey, you’ll see Taeyong more often now, right?”</p><p>“What do you mean?”</p><p>“What with the student council thing and all,” Yuta finishes the last of Doyoung’s sandwich he left as he stares at the younger, gaze now on him when his boyfriend and his friend are out of sight.</p><p>“Yeah that, and we pretty much have every class together this semester,” Jaehyun sets his helmet down before following suit. They both should really be taking a shower by now, but he guesses he can spare a second or two to just take a breather and relax for a while after a tiring practice. Jaehyun just stares at the view of the field from where he’s sitting on the bleachers as the wind blows on his skin, feeling the disgusting stickiness of sweat along with it.</p><p>“You should really drop the whole rivalry thing, it’s getting pretty childish.”</p><p>“Yeah well, I’m more serious about SNU now than I was last year so you can let that one go,” he turns to look at Yuta sitting a step behind him.</p><p>“And can’t you just be supportive of me in my attempts to crush Lee Taeyong's dreams and aspirations?” Yuta raises an eyebrow at that.</p><p>“And why would you wanna do that?” Jaehyun contemplates on an answer but a moment of silence later he realizes he doesn’t need one. Lee Taeyong is a scumbag. He erased his solutions to a math quiz in 6th grade before passing it to the instructor, hid his literature homework until he was on the verge of crying, and squeezed out all of his highlighter ink in 7th grade. Taeyong doesn’t deserve to walk this earth without Jaehyun getting his revenge. Fortunately for him, Taeyong wanted that student council president position as bad as he did and he won the position in the end, and for that he’d like to thank Taeil for convincing him to run in the first place.</p><p>“I don’t need a reason, Yuts. I just wanna see him crumble,” Yuta laughs. It sounds straight out of a teen drama novel.</p><p>“Whatever you say, captain.”</p><p>--</p><p>“Hey Donghyuckie, how was music club?” Taeyong sets his backpack down on his seat the next day of class. He’s 30 minutes early for first period, but he’s prepared himself for this moment ever since the council announced the newly elected president of Seoul Science High School. Did Jaehyun really think he could claim student council president without him doing anything about it?</p><p>“Uhh, this is weird. Since when were you interested in music club?”</p><p>“Since now. And I want in,” he smiles bashfully at the younger just to appease him. He didn’t need his suspicion to get in the way.</p><p>“Nice try, hyung. But it’s gonna take more than that to get you into music club just so you could sabotage Jaehyun hyung.”</p><p>“Oh come on Donghyuckie, it’s not like I’m gonna throw him in a pit of acid,” Donghyuck fixes his gaze on his phone, scrolling down his social media clearly ignoring the older when he spots a familiar account on view and Taeyong remembers something he probably shouldn’t.</p><p>“Besides, I think Mark Lee’s single now,” the younger’s eyes finally turn to him and widen in surprise.</p><p>“Mark Lee is single? Since when?”</p><p>“Don’t know. But what I do know is I can set you guys up this weekend if, of course you’re willing to return the favor.” Taeyong smiles at the younger. Donghyuck hesitates for a moment before he gets a nod of approval.</p><p>For the rest of the week, Taeyong stays out of Jaehyun’s attention. At least, the most he can considering they’re almost always together now that they’re on student council duty together. It’s insane for the other to have been elected as president when he’s still a sophomore, but a certain senior by the name of Moon Taeil convinced him he could win. Where he got the idea to post a picture of his stomach on social media, he doesn’t know. He’s not even sure if he would have lost despite the 6-pack post, and that’s scary because Jaehyun’s popularity is rising steadily even outside of campus. He’s got seniors and outsiders campaigning for him during the school elections. And while Jung Jaehyun rose to fame, Taeyong was convinced the safest position he could secure was being a secretary given that he’s still a sophomore. He ran for the opposite party and fortunately won, but not for his Baekhyun hyung who lost the position to 6-pack swindler.</p><p>The bad news is most of the people from his party did lose except for him and 2 other representatives. The good news is he’s going to avenge Baekhyun with all he’s got while he’s given the opportunity. The guy took the loss gracefully, smiling and comforting most of their party when they lost. Unsurprisingly for Taeyong, he was mad his hyung lost to a self-centered, egotistical sophomore. All the sleepless nights he and his party spent will not be in vain. He’s going to destroy Jung Jaehyun if it’s the last thing he does.</p><p>--</p><p>The next week, Taeyong shows up to music club as a new member. He knows how to play a few instruments himself, so he really didn’t need to worry about fitting in. Besides, he’s Lee Taeyong. Everybody in that room would kneel at his command. Everybody except one.</p><p>Jaehyun stomps to his side when he sees him entering from across the room. He grabs him by the arm and leads him outside.</p><p>“What the hell are you doing here? You little shit, you’re really pushing my buttons aren’t you,” oh Jaehyun is mad. Taeyong snickers, what a temperamental baby.</p><p>“Relax Jung, I’m just here to appreciate the complexity of music with my peers. I didn’t know you were already a member here,” Taeyong swears he could see the other’s eye twitch with anger. This is too entertaining, if only he knew breaking the pact would be this fun, he should’ve done it years ago.</p><p>“You know I’m a member here. This is against the rules, Lee. You can’t just waltz in here and ask to be a member.”<br/>Taeyong’s reply comes instantly, “Ask? Who said anything about asking? I’m already a member here. Said they could really use some talent for once,” he remarks sarcastically at the taller.</p><p>“Besides, we’re sharing student council anyway so why not share this one too, hmm?” Taeyong walks past him before a reply could escape his mouth. Jaehyun unclenches his fist before running it through his hair in frustration and defeat.</p><p>On the first year of high school, the two decided to lay down some ground rules in a show of ‘maturity’ considering they didn’t have the best few years of middle school together, always fighting about some petty inter-school competition the other wasn’t chosen for to represent their school. They found a way to equally divide extracurriculars to get the most credit and still have their grades neck and neck. A few clubs were chosen to be picked by either. In the end, Taeyong got dance club, Jaehyun got music. Taeyong chose debate and Jaehyun picked journalism. Taeyong pulling that music club stunt on him was a pretty big deal, and he was definitely crossing a line, he knew that. But Jaehyun should’ve known not to run for student council president without letting him know beforehand. He should’ve known not to provoke Taeyong.</p><p>--</p><p>Taeyong gets his response in the way of Jaehyun making his life in student council duties a living hell. He makes him do an hour’s worth of presentation on the essence of good leadership for the heck of it. He insists he buys them coffee cans from the vending machines 4 floors down instead of the freshmen representatives and assures everyone else that Taeyong is very happy to do all these things. Taeyong just smiles behind his want to tackle Jung Jaehyun to the ground and choke him till he turns purple.</p><p>“President,” Taeyong calls in the middle of the meeting with every member of the student council around them. Jaehyun is dozing off in the middle of his report on this semester’s budget and he’s not going to let this opportunity of humiliating the other pass.</p><p>“Must you fall asleep while I’m talking?” the man in question straightens up in his seat before yawning in boredom.</p><p>“Oh, don’t worry, it’s purely voluntary.” Almost everyone in the room snickers and Taeyong finds a smirk plastered on the taller’s face. Well, that backfired horribly. Taeyong’s eyebrows furrow at his cockiness.</p><p>“We don’t need all of this boring talk, Taeyong. Just tell us, do we have enough money for the semester’s activities?”</p><p>“Yes, but you need to look over the—”</p><p>“Well, splendid! That concludes our meeting for today, who wants some tteokbokki?” the chairs creak loudly against the tiles when the council members stand to get out of their seats.</p><p>Taeyong gapes in disbelief before he hurries to Jaehyun’s side whose gathering the papers in his hands, trying his best to keep his voice to a whisper since 20 other people are in the room with them.</p><p>“You asshole, you told me to write a comprehensive report. I stayed up till 2 am doing this shit,”</p><p>“Language, there are freshmen in here.”</p><p>“And you made me do 10 minutes of it.” Jaehyun smiles at him. That cheeky this-is-what-you-get-for-messing-with-me smile.</p><p>“We’re sharing music club, Taeyong. We should share student council gracefully, no?” Jaehyun walks away without another word. Taeyong wants to bang his head on the oval table.</p><p>--</p><p>Taeyong finds himself stabbing his food at lunch that day with Doyoung. It’s 20 minutes till lunch is over but the rage in his system won’t die down. He has to find a way to tick Jaehyun off after what he’s been through all damn week.</p><p>“I’m gonna make that reprehensible twat pay for this, I swear to God I will,” he glares at his food turning to mush at the way he’s terrorizing it.</p><p>“Pray tell, what’d he do this time?”</p><p>“He completely disregarded my entire report for tteokbokki, that fucking asshole.”</p><p>“Probably would’ve done the same,” Doyoung chortles and he averts his glare at the younger.</p><p>“Look, Doyoung you don’t get it. Jaehyun would do anything to make me back off from SNU. Of course, I’m not gonna do that so he’s doing his best to sabotage my extracurriculars.”</p><p>“Then get back at him with your academics? You’re obviously smarter than him.” Doyoung states as a matter of factly,</p><p>“Yeah well, that won’t be enough. I need to do something. Something like volunteer work…” Taeyong trails off when he realizes this. He could probably gouge out a few volunteer works from Mr. Pyo when he gets the chance. The guy’s always in everyone’s face trying to get them to do volunteer work anyway. It’s two birds with one stone.</p><p>“By the way, my cousin from Daegu is settling in. You mind if he eats lunch with us next week? At least until he finds new friends of course,” Taeyong signals a no, he doesn’t mind. But his mind is somewhere else at the moment, and he can’t quite focus on what the other is saying.</p><p>“Hey, we have Mr. Pyo together right?” Doyoung nods in agreement.</p><p>“Why don’t we do some volunteer work for extra credit, yeah?” Taeyong flashes a smile to which the younger gives a disinterested look.</p><p>“Taeyong we already have so much on our plate, and you know that.”</p><p>“Oh, come on. Don’t you want to help save the environment or the turtles… or whatever Mr. Pyo’s got in store for us?”<br/>Taeyong shifts in his seat, setting his arms down and leaning onto the lunch table to look Doyoung in the eye across him when he sees the other’s still not convinced.</p><p>“Look, it’ll be a great time for us to bond. We haven’t gone out since you and Yuta got together last semester,” Taeyong holds the other’s gaze, feeling his resolute crumble. He’s been guilty about not giving Taeyong attention since Yuta happened. They haven’t gone out except for the few hangouts at his or the other’s place after school. Taeyong sets his jaw before he puts the icing on top of the cake.</p><p>“Plus, I really wanna help the environment, Doie.” Taeyong pouts. This was too easy. Taking Jung Jaehyun down was too easy.</p><p>--</p><p>As per usual, Taeyong’s student council life remains tiring and cumbersome. Jaehyun doesn’t hold back from making his life a living hell. He stays up late at night to finish schoolwork just to get up early the next day to go over papers that need to be signed by the principal and the board. Academics are testing his last brain cells too what with midterms coming up, add music club, dance club, and debate to the mix and Taeyong swears he’s on the verge of going insane. But he won’t back down. He brought this on himself and no way in hell is he going to admit defeat to Jung Jaehyun. It was easier said than done to be honest because now he’s rethinking his life choices as he walks to the 4th floor where everyone is cooped up for an afternoon student council meeting and Taeyong has his hands full with about 10 cans of vending machine coffee. It doesn’t help that the elevator is broken, and this is his second trip to get 20 cans of coffee up to the office for everyone.</p><p>Taeyong’s feet ache and he loses his footing just when he’s a step away from the 4th floor and he panics, falling off the stairs and dying before he’s 18 is not exactly the best way to go. Especially because he hasn’t had his revenge yet. He holds his hand out for the railing when he feels himself reeling backward at the missed step, the coffee cans in his hand falling loudly to the steps. He braces himself for the impact, but it doesn’t come, and there’s suddenly a hand holding out to him and he’s being pulled in the opposite direction.</p><p>He expects nothing of it, probably just a good Samaritan who doesn’t want to see an accidental death firsthand. But when he looks up he finds his Baekhyun-hyung, who flashes him a beautiful smile. Taeyong’s body slumps, and he doesn’t know why but he feels so relieved to see the older in his zombie-like state.</p><p>“Hey, careful we don’t want you falling down a flight of stairs,” the older laughs. Genuinely laughs and he feels all the stress leave his body at the sound, a rush of dopamine flooding his system.</p><p>“Hyung what are you doing here?”</p><p>“Just passing by, Jongin has a class on this building and I got bored waiting for mine.”</p><p>“Ah, well you can hang out with me at the office, we just started the meeting.” Taeyong offers him a tired smile, but before the older can reply there’s a voice booming behind them.</p><p>“Lee Taeyong,” Jaehyun walks up to them, his hands in his pockets and his brows furrowed while he scans the man across Taeyong. He doesn’t even notice the coffee cans on the floor until his feet stumble upon one and he glances down before peering over at Taeyong.</p><p>“Do you expect us to drink coffee off the floor?” Taeyong rolls his eyes at the taller before he moves to collect the abandoned cans. Jaehyun walks closer to Baekhyun until they’re face to face. They stare each other down for a few seconds before Baekhyun speaks up.</p><p>“Jaehyun,” the older acknowledges in an awkward tone.</p><p>“Baekhyun-hyung,” the younger says back. Taeyong stands in the middle just staring at the two staring at each other. The tension in the air is so thick you can practically see it radiating off of them.</p><p>“Right, umm… Hyung do you want to stay? You can have my coffee.”</p><p>“Actually, there aren’t enough chairs in the office, Taeyong.” Jaehyun butts in before the older could respond. Baekhyun breaks the tension by flashing a smile his way.</p><p>“It’s alright, Taeyong. My next class starts in 10 minutes and it’s in the opposite building, so I have to get going. See you in beach cleanup,” Baekhyun bids adieu before he can say another word, walking down the same flight of stairs he almost died from. Seeing his hyung after a long time really took some stress out of him. And dear mister president just had to ruin it.</p><p>“Beach cleanup?” Jaehyun blurts out when their hyung is out of earshot.</p><p>“You’re fucking rude, you know that?” Taeyong ignores his question and adjusts the coffee cans in his arms.</p><p>“Baekhyun-hyung is our senior,” Jaehyun looks at him with an unreadable expression plastered. The kind that has Taeyong second-guessing if he’s mad, or <em>mad</em> mad. Like the different kind of mad from when they pull some ridiculous blow on each other. Before he could ponder on it longer, the other walks past him coolly, not even bothering in helping him with the cans. That prick, Taeyong takes a calming breath and stomps the rest of the way to the council office.</p><p>--</p><p>Taeyong spends his weekends on debate club and dance. Fortunately, music club meets up every Wednesday and he’s thankful for that because if not, he wouldn’t know how to chop his body to pieces to attend to everywhere he’s needed. Doyoung was a debate club member last year too, but he quit this year when all the extracurriculars Taeyong dragged him into got a bit too much for him. Taeyong let him since he’s made friends with a few other members like Renjun and Kun. The three of them were teammates and quite frankly, they were their school’s powerhouse. They’d be added with another member or two depending on the type of debate they’d be having, but the three make a perfect match. Kun makes a perfect Prime Minister, Renjun a second speaker, while him a whip. They’ve been dominating regionals since last year and they don’t plan on stopping anytime soon.</p><p>“Taeyong hyung, President is waiting outside for you,” Renjun informs him in the middle of lunch after some informal practice.</p><p>“Jaehyun? Why is he here?”</p><p>“He didn’t say but he called for you,” Renjun walks past him, his sandwich still halfway eaten to get to Kun across the room scanning over some of their notes on human rights movements over the decades.</p><p>Taeyong pushes the door open to Jaehyun standing in the hallway with his arms crossed over his chest and his feet tapping impatiently on the floor. Taeyong furrows his brows in confusion. What could he possibly want from him, his student council duties are on hold for the weekend.</p><p>“The office is a mess.”</p><p>“And?”</p><p>“And you need to clean it up. I have a meeting with senior photojournalists this afternoon so I can’t do it myself, dickwad.”</p><p>“Just call the janitors, you intolerable ass.”</p><p>“It’s a weekend,” Jaehyun glowers, and Taeyong huffs in annoyance.</p><p>“As much as I’d love to clean the entire office by myself, I have other matters to attend to. Now if you’ll excuse me Leeteuk-hyung is calling for his best speaker,” Taeyong beams a cheeky smile and turns around to enter the room. Jaehyun has other plans.</p><p>“Just,” he grabs Taeyong by the arm and practically drags him to the student council office. “Hey! Let go asshat, I’m coming!” Taeyong yanks his arm off the other’s grip before straightening his shirt and smoothing off the creases. He huffs in annoyance before leading the way to the office. The school is mostly silent since it’s a weekend and only a few clubs have meetings scattered all around campus, so Taeyong savors the silence for a moment.</p><p>“Just so you know, I have dance club this afternoon. It’s not just you leading a busy life.”</p><p>Jaehyun scoffs, “But you have all the time in the world to flirt with Byun Baekhyun?” Taeyong turns around to face him at the comment.</p><p>“Aww, is the little spawn of satan jealous?” he teases.</p><p>“Screw you, Lee.”</p><p>“No thanks, I’m not really the rebound type. Kim Jungwoo still ignoring your texts?” that must’ve hit a nerve, because for a moment Jaehyun stares at him in silence. He’s about to take it back when Jaehyun offers him a sarcastic smile.</p><p>“I wouldn’t be so cocky if I were you, Baekhyun-hyung tends to entertain all the guests in the lounge as a show of being nice. But he’s not really one to stick,” Taeyong’s mood falls. He knows that. He’s often seen with prominent seniors like Chanyeol, Sehun or Kyungsoo but he’s never heard of him actually dating anyone and being serious about it. He doesn’t expect anything from his hyung anyway, his stupid crush was gonna be just that. A stupid crush.</p><p>--</p><p>Taeyong gawks at the mess in the office when they arrive. Cardboard and construction paper cutouts were everywhere on the floor, there are glitter stains on the round oak table and boxes of leftover Chinese that was starting to smell.</p><p>“Who the hell did this?” Jaehyun walks past him to get inside the office.</p><p>“Seniors. I think they were planning for a surprise party for Minseok hyung, but I couldn’t really complain since I’m not exactly high up the hierarchy,” Taeyong gives him a look.</p><p>“You’re the student council president. And you’re super rich.”</p><p>“I’m still a sophomore. They have that against me,” Taeyong shrugs, he can’t imagine going against the seniors either. They could be diabolical if they wanted to considering the fact that they’re closest to their teachers. They could put in a good word for you and you can expect straight A’s for a whole semester, Taeyong guesses the opposite is true for it as well. Taeyong can scheme alright, but they have at least 2 extra years’ worth of scheming more than Taeyong has.</p><p>“Well, are you going to clean up or not?” Taeyong sighs in defeat. There’s really no point in arguing with Jaehyun whenever they play president and secretary. As much as he loves his Baekhyun-hyung for letting him run as secretary, he would’ve appreciated at least a vice president position or maybe even president. But seeing as someone like Baekhyun lost to Jaehyun, his chances were slim from the start.</p><p>Taeyong starts his cleanup from the floors seeing as it’s hard to get around the room with so much trash lying around. He picks up the construction paper remains and balls them together in a big ball before throwing it in the trash. The large cardboard cutouts he sets near the door to take them out later. The leftover Chinese takeouts on the table are starting to smell, and a few fruit flies surround them as he takes a closer look. He covers his nose with one hand and gathers the cartons and plastic utensils with the other.</p><p>“You didn’t really strike me as the cleaning type,” Taeyong turns around at the voice. Jaehyun is still there watching him.</p><p>“You know, seeing as you’re the son of a business tycoon.”</p><p>“Unlike you I like to keep my bedroom and my belongings clean regardless of the presence of a helper,” Taeyong remarks sarcastically before getting back to work. He drops the rotting takeouts on the trash bin and proceeds to take a towel on the office sink to wipe the table. Trying to reach the very ends of the table from one side, he bends over and starts wiping in round motions. He proceeds to rub over the glitter stains until the oak table is spotless and glitter-free. As if on cue, Jaehyun speaks up again.</p><p>“You’ve got no ass, you know that?” Taeyong is stunned the moment the words leave the other’s mouth. He turns around to pin him with an accusing look.</p><p>“You bloody pervert, you were looking at my ass?”</p><p>“I just said, you don’t have one.” Jaehyun smiles coyly. Taeyong feels violated, Jung Jaehyun was looking at his ass. He thinks it over in his head for a second time, Jung Jaehyun was looking at my ass. He shakes his head before the thought progresses.</p><p>“Oh, fuck you, Jung.”</p><p>“No thanks, I’d like to be the one doing the fucking, Taeyong.”</p><p>Taeyong is silent once more. In all his life he has never heard Jung Jaehyun talk like this to him. Like he was.. like he was flirting. It’s disturbing and Taeyong feels lightheaded and he thinks he’s going to hurl, and he wants to smash his head on the oak table he just wiped down and he doesn’t even know why but he feels so weird.</p><p>They stare back at each other for what feels like forever. Taeyong can’t quite comprehend the look on Jaehyun’s face. The man was unreadable. He always keeps a poker face whenever something like this happens, so he never knows if he’s being serious or not. The same isn’t true for him, though. Because his jaw feels a bit jittery, knees just a tiny bit weak and he swears he can hear Jaehyun internally laughing at how flustered he is right now, so he snaps out of it.</p><p>“What are you even still doing here? I thought you had a m-meeting or something,” Taeyong wants to rip his scalp off for stuttering. Why is he even stuttering? Why was his sole motor function that mattered betraying him right now?</p><p>“You know what, it doesn’t matter. I’m outta here,” Taeyong doesn’t wait for a reply before he dashes for the door, but before he can, Jaehyun is grabbing at his arm and pulling him back. Now Taeyong’s urge to jump off of the tallest building in Seoul just skyrocketed, because Jaehyun’s face is so close to his.</p><p>Taeyong’s gaze burns steadily back at Jaehyun before he trails to his eyelashes, he’s never noticed it until now, but his eyes are a deep ebony. His skin is flawless, not a pore or scratch in sight and he sees a slight tinge over his cheeks, from the cold weather he guesses. His nose is the perfect mold with pink plump lips to match and Taeyong has to gulp when he stares at the other’s lips. When he looks back up to his eyes, the other has been staring at his lips the whole time. Taeyong doesn’t know what hit him but the whole ordeal makes something inside him click, and he’s pulling his arm back from Jaehyun’s grip before he knows it.</p><p>“I-I’ll see you Monday,” Taeyong keeps his gaze down and doesn’t wait for a reply. Jaehyun can only watch as he realizes what has just transpired between them.</p><p>--</p><p>“Doyoungie, I think I’m sick,” Taeyong calls Doyoung the minute he arrives home. The whole 20-minute ride on the Range Rover, he’s been nervously tapping his feet. The feeling of wanting to hurl is still there, and he feels his body temperature significantly rise.</p><p>“What? Are Aunt and Uncle not there? Do you want me to come over?”</p><p>“No, it’s just..” Taeyong swallows, his throat is dry even after drinking an entire glass of water just a few minutes ago.</p><p>“I just need to drink something, and I’ll feel better..” It’s harder to breathe now and he thinks he’s going to pass out.</p><p>“Alright, calm down.” Taeyong senses panic in the other’s voice and he tries to calm his breathing to not let it show and worry him.</p><p>“Was it something you ate? Does your stomach hurt?”</p><p>Taeyong blurts out a <em>no</em>, he’s been feeling fine until that time in the student council office today.</p><p>“Student council? Who was there, maybe they can help you figure it out.”</p><p>“Jaehyun,” the line goes silent for a second before Doyoung interrogates again.</p><p>“Okay, what were you guys doing there?”</p><p>“We were just cleaning, no it was—” Taeyong swallows again, his eyes slowly losing focus now.</p><p>“It was just me. I was cleaning and the prick was just watching me,” Taeyong tries to soothe his throat by swallowing more of his saliva. He’s massaging his temples now to help with his eyes as he closes them. When he opens them, he feels slightly better and his throat doesn’t feel like closing in on itself. It’s a moment later when he’s feeling slightly better that he realizes Doyoung is laughing at him from the other line. Taeyong is mildly annoyed, he’s on the verge of dying and his best friend is laughing at him.</p><p>“Well let’s see, Taeyong. You feel feverish, your throat’s dry, you can’t breathe and there’s a fluttering feeling on your stomach—”</p><p>“It’s not fluttering!”</p><p>“—and it’s not from what you ate this morning. You’ve got it bad,” Doyoung continues laughing from the other line. Taeyong doesn’t even have it in himself to be mad because he’s dying. And so he hangs up on his best friend. He still doesn’t know what to do, but he’d rather spend his remaining time on earth repenting his sins than listening to his best friend laugh at him over the phone.</p><p>--</p><p>Jaehyun’s a fucking idiot. He should’ve seen this coming the moment he felt disturbingly angry at the sight of Taeyong with Baekhyun the other day. He should’ve never made Taeyong clean the office when it was only the two of them inside the room, and he should’ve never flirted with the other inadvertently just to ‘test the waters’ as he’d like to call it. Because now he realizes he’s attracted to Taeyong, if the raging boner he’s sporting isn’t already enough proof.</p><p>He tells himself it’s just the weather, or the fabric of his trousers irritating his skin. But when he locks himself in the bathroom to relieve himself, it becomes clear that no matter how much he thinks of boobs and faceless naked men, Taeyong’s face makes an appearance when he’s about to come and he refuses to come to the sight of his mortal enemy behind closed eyelids. Now he’s only stimulated himself more by denying his orgasm and he feels like he’s going to die. He wants to die because there’s no fucking way he’s attracted to Lee Taeyong.</p><p>He’s despised the guy for as long as he can remember, he’s sabotaged his grades and extracurriculars just to get a reaction out of him. He does <em>not</em> like Lee Taeyong. Lee Taeyong is a scumbag and he definitely does not deserve his affection.</p><p>Jaehyun doesn’t know what to get out of thinking about how much Taeyong is an asshole but it’s been 20 minutes and his hard-on hasn’t subsided. He just can’t stop thinking about Taeyong bent over the office’s oak table, or the way Taeyong’s pupils dilate when he’s staring right back at him, and the way Taeyong’s mouth would feel when he’s buried deep down his cock...</p><p>He curses out loud when he feels his dick twitch inside his boxers before he’s collapsing face down on his bed.</p><p>
  <em>Jung Jaehyun control yourself.</em>
</p><p>He tries to think of anything other than Taeyong. Bread mold, toe fungus, even his grandfather’s dentures just to calm his erection, but it’s gonna take a little longer for Jaehyun junior to lie back to sleep. Because he cannot, for the life of him get the image of Lee Taeyong away from his mind.</p><p>--</p><p>When classes resume the next week, they pretend everything is the way it always has been. They pretend everything that went down last Saturday never happened. They don’t have ‘feelings’ for each other. It’s normal for people to get flustered when someone flirts with them or if said someone is in close proximity – Taeyong reasons. He still hates Jaehyun as much as he did when the other drenched his tennis club applications in the school fountain. He keeps that internal rage boiling on the surface, fostering it, letting it seep through every vein in his body so he never forgets how much he hates Jung Jaehyun.</p><p>He makes sure everyone around him knows how much of an asshole Jaehyun is. And by everyone, he means Doyoung and his cousin Jeno who’s sitting with them at lunch that week. It’s hard for Taeyong to make other friends since everyone’s always thought of him as intimidating. If his overachiever streak wasn’t enough to drive them away, there was always the fact that he was the son of Lee Jieun – one of the biggest business tycoons in South Korea.</p><p>Doyoung’s parents were a family friend of his. They’ve been friends since their parents were, which was probably back when they were still in 2nd grade, he can’t quite remember to be honest. Doyoung wasn’t intimidated by him. He was competitive alright, other times he’d be right below him and Jaehyun on the school’s overall student rankings, but he never went out of his way to beat them. He was just a natural at it.</p><p>The whole week Taeyong eats lunch with Doyoung and Jeno, and almost every day he has a new story for how much he hates the resident football captain slash student council president. When Friday rolls in and Jeno has spent enough time with both of them, he feels free to speak his mind. And speak he does.</p><p>“Well hyung, it seems to me like you like Jaehyun hyung a lot.” Taeyong freezes at the words. He has a mortified look on his face when he looks over to Jeno and Doyoung’s side of the table. He sees that his best friend is just as shocked when he peers over to see that his mouth is slightly open and his spoon in mid-air, clearly about to savor his bowl of kimchi jjigae. Jeno stays clueless to their reactions, focusing on topping his rice with musaengchae and an omelet roll.</p><p>Jeno notices the eyes on him not a moment longer. “I mean, you keep talking about him. He’s all you ever talk about with us,” the younger shrugs. Taeyong just stares at him, head to the side as his brows knit in confusion.</p><p>Doyoung straightens up before clearing his throat. “Well, you didn’t tell us anything we didn’t already know, Jeno.” Doyoung averts his gaze to him from across the table. “Right Taeyongie?”</p><p>Taeyong sends him a glare before he violently stabs his spoon onto his bowl of rice that the motion vibrates throughout his wrist and he physically feels his hand redden.</p><p>Moments later the cafeteria’s glass doors slide open and in comes the devil. Doyoung waves to Yuta who’s following closely behind the devil incarnate. Jaehyun feels Taeyong’s gaze on him and he locks his gaze with the latter as they pass, letting out a sly smirk. Taeyong flips a finger vehemently in his direction before standing up and gathering his things. He can’t stand being in the same room as Jung Jaehyun right now.</p><p>--</p><p>Jaehyun doesn’t like Mr. Pyo all that much. He’s a good teacher, he’s not deaf to their difficulties and complaints on the lesson and adjusts accordingly to everyone’s learning capability, and he gives Jaehyun good grades. But sometimes he’s a little too overbearing. He always goes on about poverty, feminism, war, and revolutions, and this coupled with the fact that he’s supposed to be teaching mathematics. Jaehyun doesn’t get it, the time he spends talking about dwindling biodiversity 5 minutes before class ends could be used to learn about limits. Yeah sure, these things are alarming, and they need urgent attention. But they could always learn about them in science class. So you can imagine how bored he is sitting through an excruciating 5 more minutes of Mr. Pyo talking about carbon footprints and greenhouse gas emissions. His misery ends when the bell rings and the students gather their things and make a beeline for the door.</p><p>Jaehyun swings his backpack on one side of his shoulder, his opposite hand on his pocket as he opts to follow the crowd when something catches his attention.</p><p>“Taeyong,” Mr. Pyo clears his throat and Jaehyun drops his backpack onto a nearby armchair, opening it up and pretending to look for something inside. He didn’t need to go out just yet. What he needs is to hear the rest of their conversation.</p><p>“You will be helping Baekhyun-ssi with applications for beach cleanup. They’ve set the final date for this Saturday. These are the forms you’ll be needing.”</p><p>“Thank you, Mr. Pyo. Baekhyun-hyung has been looking forward to this all semester.” There’s a sick feeling that settles in Jaehyun’s stomach when he hears the words Baekhyun-hyung. A scowl etches on his face as he zips up his bag and dashes out of the room, not bothering to be discreet with his temper in front of a teacher.<br/>So that’s what they meant by beach cleanup.</p><p>--</p><p>When Wednesday rolls in, Jaehyun has hatched the perfect plan to stop Taeyong from going to the cleanup. He finds out that Doyoung will accompany him, so in order to prevent Lee Taeyong from going, he needs to stop the best friend first.</p><p>Jaehyun chuckles to himself. Taeyong is one sly snake for using that against him. Volunteering? Why’s he never thought of that? Of course academics and extracurriculars aren’t enough, and volunteer work would look so good on college applications. There is no way in hell he’s going to let Lee Taeyong have this one. There isn’t a single blow Taeyong has thrown at him that he hasn’t paid back, and this was no different.</p><p>Taeyong jolts awake when he feels someone kick the leg of his chair. He looks around distortedly and finds Jaehyun staring down at him. The time on the grandfather clock across the room reads 8:50 p.m., and he presses his fingers on his eyelids willing the subtle pain to go away. He’s been losing sleep helping his Baekhyun-hyung organize the cleanup for the past 3 days and the event is tomorrow, and on top of that he had 2 consecutive days of quizzes on history and English, so he really didn’t have enough time to spare.</p><p>“Get out, you’ve been dozing off for 2 hours,” Jaehyun leaves him alone to stuff some papers in his bag while Taeyong looks around the room to spot his. When he pulls his phone out of his bag, he remembers why he dozed off in the office in the first place.</p><p>“Hey, have you seen Chenle? I was waiting for him to give me the list of freshmen whose parents are donating for the Spring Festival,” Jaehyun faces him at the question.</p><p>“He’s left already. And I encoded them myself seeing as your irresponsible ass preferred sleeping on duty,” the other goes back to organizing his bag and Taeyong makes a confused face at him, sleep still fogging his mind a little.</p><p>Jung Jaehyun wouldn’t let him sleep during student council hours, let alone do his work for him and he finds it odd, very odd. Taeyong shakes the thought away from his mind and proceeds on calling his chauffer. It’s getting late and he should really get home by now. The other line rings for a few moments before he hears Mr. Im’s greeting.</p><p>“Hey, Mr. Im. Can you pick me up at school? Is abeoji still not at home? Ah, really… School gates will be closing in 10 minutes, though... Alright, I’ll wait for you outside then, bye.” Taeyong hangs up just in time when Jaehyun makes his way to the door. He scurries to the door himself, his backpack hanging loosely on one side of his shoulder. Jaehyun proceeds to lock the doors when they’re both outside, the dim lighting of the hallway illuminating the whole of 4th floor.</p><p>They walk down the flight of stairs together, albeit not side by side. Taeyong leads while Jaehyun lags a few steps behind him. When they reach the ground floor, a sleek black Lexus RX awaits Jaehyun. The person on the driver’s seat is a middle-aged man, but definitely not Jaehyun’s father. Taeyong has seen him far too many times to not recognize the old man. Jaehyun proceeds to open the backseat door, glancing one last time in Taeyong’s direction before disappearing inside the vehicle and shutting the door.</p><p>Taeyong watches as the car speeds away, shivering to himself when a gust of wind knocks on his coat as it passes by. He walks dutifully to the entrance gate and gets there just in time for the school guard to inform him he’ll be closing the gates. He stands outside the school gates for a good five minutes before he’s almost shivering. Jongno-gu is a 20-minute drive away from school, and he mentally calculates how many more minutes there are left before Mr. Im arrives or he freezes to death, whichever comes first.</p><p>There’s a car pulling up on the driveway and Taeyong has to do a double-take to see it because the headlights are blinding in the dark. He covers his eyes and blinks a few times to see that it’s not the Range Rover Taeyong was waiting for, and that’s definitely not Mr. Im. In fact, it’s the same Lexus RX that left a few minutes ago. Said car pulls up in front of him, and the window rolls down to reveal Jung Jaehyun sitting in the backseat.</p><p>“Get inside,” the other says without glancing his way, looking straight to the front of the car. Taeyong is dumbstruck for a moment, did he come back for him?</p><p>Jaehyun finally looks at him from inside the vehicle. “Get inside or get mugged waiting here for your chauffeur, it’s not rocket science you idiot.”</p><p>Taeyong considers his choices for a moment, he could easily get inside with his sworn enemy and be driven safely back home or wait another 20 minutes in the dark and cold evening for Mr. Im and possibly get mugged or be frozen to death. Fortunately for him, his pride isn’t getting the best of him today since he’s sleep-deprived and overall just tired.</p><p>He climbs inside the Lexus without another thought. He informs Mr. Im he’s got a new ride home the moment he settles inside the vehicle. When that’s done, he sets his phone inside his pocket, the warmth of the car heater grazing his skin and he rubs his hands together before blowing hot air on them. The car ride is silent the whole way to Jongno-gu, and that’s when he realizes, Jaehyun lives in Seongbuk-gu. That’s roughly a 10-minute ride from their school to Jaehyun’s house. Jongnu-gu is 20 minutes away and literally on the opposite side of town. This begs the question, why is Jaehyun letting him hitch a ride?</p><p>“Don’t you live in Seongbuk-gu?” Jaehyun doesn’t reply and just reaches out for something from his side of the car and pulls out a warm drink, probably hot chocolate – Taeyong guesses by the smell it gives out. He’s startled when the other gently shoves it his way, again, not looking at him. He stares at the drink for a moment before carefully taking it with both his hands. Jaehyun’s grip on the cup loosens as he spots a faint red flush on the inside of his palms. The warmth from the cup transfers to his palms and he shivers, taking a light sip of the drink as he feels the warmth spread throughout his body. A few sips later and he feels sleepy again, the comforting warmth of the interior and the silent humming of the engine lulling him to sleep.</p><p>He wakes when he feels the car halt to a stop and when he looks outside, his house is in perfect view. The tall glass windows giving them a view of the uninhabited home inside, with the lights dim and the Range Rover parked outside. His parents’ cars are nowhere in sight, as it always has been for the past week. Taeyong sighs before getting off the car, taking a once over at the person inside before he mutters a thanks, barely audible. Jaehyun nods in his direction, not bothering to look yet again as he signals for his driver to scamper.</p><p>It’s later that evening when he’s in bed that Taeyong realizes Jaehyun has had a light dust of pink fanning his cheeks and his neck the whole ride to Jongno-gu.</p><p>--</p><p>Jaehyun stares at his reflection in the bathroom mirror. The gentle fog from the warm shower he just had wafting throughout the bathroom and out the creaks of the door into his bedroom. His towel hangs low on his waist and he grabs another to furiously wipe the wetness off his hair. He leaves the towel in his hands hanging on his shoulder as he wipes the mirror before setting his arms on the sink.</p><p>He doesn’t understand the feeling he gets whenever he recounts everything that happened the night before. He had offered to chauffer Taeyong back to his house in the dead of night in his own volition. Apart from that, he made the effort to get drinks for the man and did his council work for him.</p><p>He’s hated the other for God knows how long, but maybe seeing Taeyong with bags under his eyes and walking like a corpse around the hallways made something stir in him. In his many years of catfight with Lee Taeyong, he’s never seen him show a bit of weakness. Even when exams week came, or schoolwork piled one on top of the other. He always studies in advance anyway, so he doesn’t look like the type to cram, but something tells Jaehyun he does now.</p><p>Maybe it has something to do with that phone call he had with his driver last night, and the dark house he came home to. Are his parents never home at all? Jaehyun’s isn’t either but he’s never felt… empty inside his own home. He always talks to them when they <em>are</em> around, and they make sure to be there for him despite their busy schedules.</p><p>He feels kind of bad for the other, maybe he should stop being such a nuisance and just let Taeyong be. Maybe his academic achievements are the only thing his parents are interested in. Should he abort his plan to sabotage their cleanup, then? Should he lighten his council work load? Should he give up SNU for— Jaehyun shakes the thought away from his mind.</p><p>Why the fuck should he be the one adjusting for that brat? Jaehyun doesn’t owe him anything, he even brought him home last night and made sure he was warm and cozy. It should be <em>Taeyong</em> thanking him and not the other way around. His mind was playing ridiculous tricks on him. He can’t even believe he even came up with those stupid ideas</p><p>Lee Taeyong is nothing more than a rock he needs to step on to get to SNU. SNU is more important than Lee Taeyong’s feelings, and ostensibly, more important than his.</p><p>That same afternoon, Jaehyun opens the door to Doyoung ringing the doorbell. He lets him in, courtesy of Yuta inviting him to help prepare for Jaehyun’s party. It’s the day of the cleanup, and Jaehyun has a few tricks up his sleeve.</p><p>"Yuta's upstairs setting up the sound system," Jaehyun points out as soon as he closes the door. Doyoung nods as a reply before climbing up the stairs.</p><p>Jaehyun's house is a massive 3-floor structure with a minimalist interior coupled with almost glass everythings and a complete smarthome system. It's located in the better part of Seongbuk-gu which means it has a decent yard with a safe distance from neighbors, but it's not as big as their estate outside of Seoul where they permanently stay. His father insisted they shouldn't invest so much in a house they would eventually sell a few years from now when Jaehyun goes to college, but his mother thought otherwise. Jaehyun is an only child, they couldn't possibly max out their credit cards just by spending it on a house.</p><p>He sets up some chips and drinks in the kitchen while Doyoung and Yuta finalize the party playlists. His parents aren't home for the weekend, and he has their permission to throw a party so long as the house doesn't get trashed.</p><p>His plan is to get Doyoung to stay until the beach cleanup is over, and then get him absolutely wasted that he forgets about the cleanup. That was his only plan from the beginning, but after his bathroom predicament this morning, he realizes he needs to bring in the big guns. If the only reason Taeyong is going is because of Baekhyun, then he has to prevent him from going, too. So he takes his chances and calls Baekhyun over, to ask for some help on student council matters of course. Baekhyun wouldn't ditch an entire cleanup drive just to party, at least that's what he thinks. He really doesn't know Baekhyun that much and what his intentions with Taeyong are.</p><p>"Hey I have to get going I have this thing with Taeyong," Doyoung's voice startles him and he whips around to find the other ready to leave.</p><p>"Are you sure? Yuta was looking for you, said he'd be in the game room. I think he needs help with something."</p><p>"Do we need to set up the consoles there too? Dammit," Doyoung rushes to said room. Jaehyun wasn't lying, Yuta was there alright, but he didn't need help with the consoles. He's already set the mood for both of them, dimming the lights and making sure nobody else gets inside that room. Now he just has to get the ball rolling.</p><p>People start arriving early, he's convinced everyone he's invited that the earlier they come, the more fun everyone will have. And since he's one of the most popular and sought out guys in campus, everyone bows to his feet and heeds his commands in a blink of an eye. By the time Doyoung and Yuta come down from the second floor, hair tousled and clothes crumpled, there are already a few people in the living room and the kitchen. Some people are littered outside on the lawn, probably waiting for their friends.</p><p>He walks over to Doyoung who's sitting on the couch with his boyfriend, a drink in his hand as he talks to him animatedly. A glance on the coffee table and he sees the target has already had a few drinks. Get Kim Dongyoung to stay, done. Now he just needs to complete phase 2 of the plan.</p><p>He entertains the people inside and welcomes the ones coming in for a few more minutes before he spots Baekhyun entering from the front door, clearly confused. He waves him over and leads him upstairs to his father's office. If Baekhyun liked to entertain everyone who shows even the least bit of interest in him, shouldn't Jaehyun invite himself in?</p><p>"Hey Jaehyun, I didn't know you were having a party."</p><p>"Yeah kinda last minute," he lies through his teeth. He has to make this believable so his ulterior motives don't show.</p><p>"So, what'd you call me here for? I hope it's not to party."</p><p>"No, no of course not. I know you have better things to do," Jaehyun laughs and the act somehow convinces the older. They walk the staircase leading to his father's office on the second floor.</p><p>"I was going to ask you about the budget for the Spring Festival. We plan on using the contingency funds for the catering," he opens the door to his father's office and lets the older in, shutting it close when he's sure nobody else on the floor saw them.</p><p>"More drinks and all that. Some seniors said last Spring Festival sucked because there weren't enough."</p><p>"Drinks? We can't have alcoholic drinks on campus," they settle on the couch, sitting across each other.</p><p>"Oh, absolutely not. We'll make sure of that," Jaehyun smiles at him. They continue to talk like that for a few more minutes, the music from outside seeping through the the room as it gets louder and more people arrive. At some point Baekhyun points out that he needs to go, but he coaxes him to stay, finding new excuses everytime he does.</p><p>He tells him he needs help with student council, academics, his flings and whatnot. He uses every trick in the book just to get him to stay. Jaehyun's not sure what made him, though. He organized the cleanup with Taeyong, went through hell all week just so he could make it successful. But in the end, he was here, with Jaehyun at some dumb party he never anticipated in the first place.</p><p>Maybe it feeds his ego knowing the student council candidate he lost to is now asking him for advice, maybe he really just wants to help. Jaehyun doesn't know, but he can't care all that much really. As long as he's here and Taeyong isn't going to that cleanup, everything will go according to plan.</p><p>When he looks out the window and deems it dark enough outside, he invites Baekhyun to the party. The music pounds louder now and he can feel the bass reverberating throughout the walls of the house. He faces Baekhyun to commence the last part of his plan.</p><p>"Look hyung, I know you're really busy, but you should stay a bit longer. Enjoy the party for a while."</p><p>Baekhyun scratches the back of his nape hesitantly, "Ah, I really can't stay. I already missed the cleanup. If I go now, I can still catch up with the lantern flying."</p><p>Jaehyun peers over Baekhyun's shoulder and sees just who he was looking for. "That's a shame, Taeyeon-noona was really looking forward to seeing you again."</p><p>"Taeyeon's here?" Jaehyun motions to said person as Baekhyun whips around to find Taeyeon in a crowd of her own friends, drinks in their hands and laughing amongst each other. Baekhyun excuses himself and makes his way to her.</p><p>Jaehyun chuckles to himself triumphantly. This was too easy, taking Lee Taeyong down was too easy.</p><p>--</p><p>Taeyong was outright panicking by now, it's been half an hour and almost all of the people who signed up for the cleanup are already here waiting for it to start. He dials Baekhyun's number one more time, hoping this time he'd actually pick up but to no avail. He walks around the area, hoping to God that his hyung is already somewhere there.</p><p>"Hey, have you seen Baekhyun-hyung?" he's asked almost everyone that question by now, but all of them have the same disappointing answer.</p><p>The validation list is with Baekhyun, and he needs to find him, or else the event can't start without him. And on top of that, he can't seem to spot Doyoung anywhere. The other committee members are sharing the same panic. Mr. Pyo will be arriving in a few minutes and the event has to start by then.</p><p>Taeyong is almost tearing up by now. He's beaten his body out preparing for this all week just for it to be a failure in the end. He can't believe Baekhyun would bail at the very last minute, and the same is true for Doyoung.</p><p>"Hyung! Taeyong-hyung! I have the validation list," Jaemin is running up to him with an iPad in his hands.</p><p>"Baekhyun-hyung sent it a few minutes ago," Taeyong looks over the spreadsheet to see all their names listed and waiting to be validated.</p><p>"What? Is he not coming?"</p><p>"No, he says he's sorry and that he's 'attending to important matters'." Jaemin quotes.</p><p>Taeyong can only sigh. He tries to understand his hyung, he wouldn't ditch a whole event if it wasn't important, right? He hopes he's right. Maybe he was having a hard time at home, too. Maybe his parents aren't getting along that well just like his are. If that were true, he wishes someone would have the same consideration for him as he did for them. He lets it go this one time. His hyung has been nothing but kind to him.</p><p>He calls Doyoung one last time just for the heck of it. The other hasn't been answering his calls but he hopes this time he finally would. The line rings once, twice, a fourth time but he gets no answer, so he hangs up. That jerk better have a good reason for ditching him. This was supposed to be a time he and his best friend could bond. He'll definitely have his foot up the other's ass if he ditched him again for Yuta.</p><p>They start the event and it goes on smoothly after that. Taeyong leads everyone with the cleanup since Baekhyun is nowhere to be found. They clean almost 3 kilometers worth of trash on the shore. Taeyong is disappointed at the amount of trash they gather by the end of the event. Most of them have a trash bag full and the others halfway through. Nevertheless, it was a success. There's a gratifying feeling Taeyong gets when he thanks everyone for their hard work, and everything he's been through all week has suddenly paid off.</p><p>They take a break after that to commence the lantern flying in a few minutes. Jaemin and the others are preparing the lanterns while he takes a few minutes away from the chaos to take a breather. He would've loved to watch the lanterns lighting up the sky with Doyoung and his Baekhyun-hyung, but that's out the door now. They could've ended the night beautifully. Maybe if his Baekhyun-hyung was here he'd feel that same wave of gratitude he did when the cleanup ended. This cleanup would've been a lot more fun if Doyoung had been here. He'd probably smell like garbage by now knowing the other would definitely throw trash his way just to annoy him. Speak of the devil, his thoughts are interrupted when his phone rings in his jean pocket, and everything goes downhill from there.</p><p>"Taeyongieee," he hears the other grumble from the other side of the line.</p><p>"Doyoung, are you drunk?" there's the sound of shuffling from Doyoung's end of the line and that's when he hears the pounding bass and grumbles of drunk people in the background.</p><p>"Are you at a <em>party</em>?"</p><p>"Mm, Jaehyun's." Taeyong's blood boils at the sound of the name.</p><p>"I can't find–" Doyoung hiccups. "I can't find Yuta," the other's words are deaf to his ears as Taeyong is seething by now. Jung Jaehyun deliberately threw a party and kept Doyoung hostage. Was Baekhyun there too?</p><p>"Can you pick me up?" Taeyong doesn't say another word before he hangs up, he grabs his things and tells Jaemin to take over for the night. He makes his way to Jaehyun's with blood in his head and revenge in his fists.</p><p>He slams the door close to the taxi when he gets to his destination. Jaehyun's house is a boisterous mess when he enters the glass doors. The pounding music is skewing with his thoughts and he screws his eyes shut, momentarily forgetting what he was here for. Was it to find Baekhyun, Doyoung, or Jaehyun himself? All of his second-guessing goes out the window when he spots Jaehyun outside on his back yard talking to Johnny and some other football guys.</p><p>He stomps his way through the house, pushing people off until he's out the back door. Taeyong grips Jaehyun's shoulder in quivering anger before he turns him around to face him. Jaehyun doesn't see Taeyong's fist flying in his face before he's stumbling back, the drink in his hand spilling on the perfectly trimmed Bermuda.</p><p>"You fucking asshole!" he yells with so much venom that he grabs everyone's attention. There's a voice calling him from behind he recognizes as Baekhyun's, but he couldn't care less. He was going to kill Jung Jaehyun.</p><p>"Was this your plan?! Hold my friends hostage while I waste away all alone in cleanup?!" Jaehyun wipes away the blood from the corner of his lip before he flashes a sly smirk at him. Taeyong wants to beat the shit out of him until he can't move a muscle.</p><p>"I was hoping you wouldn't go if they both didn't. But I think the emotional toll that brought on you was so much better," he spits. Taeyong doesn't hold back this time, grabbing the other's collar and Johnny is suddenly at their side along with some other football guy trying to break them off. Everyone in sight is looking at them now, a crowd of people from inside gathering to the yard. The school’s most prominent students in a brawl, and for free.</p><p>"This is more than just about your petty vendetta against me. Those are my friends! We don't drag friends into our shit!" he pushes the other off, effectively getting Johnny and his teammates to back off.</p><p>Jaehyun and him had been going at this war for years, and for years they've always thrown back each other's blows in hopes that someday either of them will give up and let the other claim victory. For years it had always been about their grades, academic achievements, awards, and extracurriculars. But this, this was too much. This was personal. This is where he draws the line.</p><p>"So everything you did that night, playing nice and taking me home," he pauses. "It was all to get back at me with something bigger," he laughs at his own stupidity. He was an idiot for thinking Jung Jaehyun had the least bit of humanity in him. </p><p>He stops his fueled spiel when he sees Doyoung from across the yard accompanied by Yuta, a little sobered up now that he's seen what has transpired between him and Jaehyun. He doesn't know when they got there or if they've been there this whole time, but he doesn't care. He doesn't wanna talk to him, or Baekhyun. He wants to get out of this goddamned hole and forget any of this ever happened.</p><p>He turns to leave just as Doyoung approaches him. "Taeyong! Taeyong wait!" Doyoung goes after Taeyong, as Yuta approaches Jaehyun.<br/>"Why'd you have to drag us into this, man?" Yuta huffs disappointedly, following his boyfriend out the door.<br/>Jaehyun wipes the burning feeling on the corner of his lip. Great, now even Yuta hates him.</p><p>--</p><p>Yuta has a hard time explaining to Doyoung that he had nothing to do with Jaehyun’s plan, as did Doyoung had a hard time explaining to Taeyong he had no idea the other would pull off something like that. Taeyong doesn’t talk to any of them the following week, even his Baekhyun-hyung who played such an important role in the cleanup and still ditched him. He was almost pissing himself waiting for the older during the cleanup and here he was partying himself dead.</p><p>Perhaps Taeyong underestimated the lengths Jaehyun would go to to prove a point. He asks himself if he would’ve done the same if he were in the other’s position. His mind tells him no, because that was stupid. If Jaehyun went to volunteer for extra credit, he wouldn’t sabotage the whole thing. He’d just get back at him by volunteering himself. And the event wasn’t just for his grades. He was actually looking forward to spending time with Doyoung and his Baekhyun-hyung. They could’ve had the best night in such a nice setting but because of a certain dickhead they didn’t, and on top of that he isn’t even on speaking terms with them.</p><p>Taeyong sighs, sliding the door to his homeroom open. He doesn’t spare a glance at a certain brunette sitting 2 rows away from him. He doesn’t even have the energy to be angry at him anymore, at this point he’s just tired of all the shit he’s gone through to get back at him. For now, he’ll leave it be. He doesn’t know if he’s punching back or giving up, right now he’s on a crossroad and he needs time to decide.</p><p>Baekhyun doesn’t bother him for a while, while Doyoung is still persistent on explaining and apologizing to him. At some point he lets him, and eventually forgives him. He thinks the other has suffered enough, tailing him around and sending him countless messages to apologize. They’re eating lunch together, his cousin Jeno now with his new friends at another table when the name Baekhyun is brought up.</p><p><br/>“Hey, you know what happened with Baekhyun-hyung during the party?”</p><p>“Do I wanna know?” Doyoung ignores his question, gulping the last of his yogurt before sharing the latest gossip.</p><p>“Apparently, he was talking to an ex. Kim Taeyeon, she’s a senior too. They broke up when she moved away for college.” Kim Taeyeon. He knows that name somewhere, she was one of the prettiest and smartest seniors to ever step foot in Seoul Science High.</p><p>“Then why was she attending Jaehyun’s party all away across town?” he questions to which Doyoung shrugs.</p><p>“Jaehyun has his connections. Probably invited her to get Baekhyun-hyung to stay at his party and get you alone at the cleanup.”</p><p>The table is silent for a while whilst they eat. “People are saying they’re getting back together.”</p><p>Taeyong pokes at his food silently. Chanyeol and Kyungsoo were hard enough to compete with, now his Baekhyun-hyung’s with Kim Taeyeon. Taeyong sighs in defeat, setting his chopsticks down and staring at the meal on the table, he can never win in this lifetime.</p><p>--</p><p>It's been almost 2 weeks since the incident at Jaehyun's party. It was the talk of the entire campus for a whole week but all of it died down eventually. All of it, except for one. Jaehyun can't get the idea of Taeyeon and Baekhyun out of his head. He knew they go way back, but he didn't know exactly how much. Some say they went out for a year or two and their breakup was nothing short of devastating. Taeyeon allegedly ghosted him before moving away, and Baekhyun was so hurt over the breakup that at some point his grades were starting to slip, and it didn't really take that much to be kicked out of a school as prestigious as Seoul Science High.</p><p>Nevertheless, people say he got over it somehow. But now that Taeyeon has come back, he's acting like a lovesick puppy following her around again. So he doesn't get exactly why Baekhyun is here at the student council office looking for a certain Lee Taeyong.</p><p>"No, Taeyong isn't here. If you must know, he's been avoiding me for the past 2 weeks and getting council work done from home."</p><p>"Ah..." The older scratches his nape in embarrassment. Why was he looking for Taeyong in the one place he wouldn't want to be in?</p><p>"You have classes together, right? What time does his last class for today end?" Jaehyun furrows his eyebrows at this and stares intently at the other. Baekhyun is hard to read. Everyone thinks he's so approachable and friendly that people don't see through his facade, but Jaehyun does. And he is not going to let it slide this time.</p><p>"What exactly do you want from him? Because right now, he hates you just as much as he hates me." Jaehyun steps closer, towering over the other. He doesn't know where he gets his courage from, talking down at a senior. But he's had it seeing Baekhyun still trying to pursue Taeyong even when he was already with Taeyeon.</p><p>"I just want to talk to him, Jaehyun." He says plainly, with no hint of sarcasm whatsoever and Jaehyun doubts his judgment of the other until he lets out a smirk.</p><p>"And I also wanted to thank you, you know for inviting Taeyeon. That was very cunning of you I have to say." Baekhyun lets out a short laugh.</p><p>"Then just go be with Taeyeon and stay away from us."</p><p>Baekhyun chuckles at the remark. "You know, if you wanted to mark your territory you should've just peed on him."</p><p>"What the hell are you talking about," Jaehyun spits. His voice laced with venom now.</p><p>"Everyone knows you don't really hate Taeyong, Jaehyunnie." He smiles at him innocently before he's turning around and walking down the hall. Jaehyun scoffs in disbelief. Who the hell does Byun Baekhyun think he is?</p><p>--</p><p>Taeyong comes home to his deserted house at 7 p.m. He rarely sees his parents these days, and it's no surprise to him anymore at this point. He shuts the door to the Range Rover close and waves goodbye at Mr. Im from inside the vehicle. The man softly honks at him before pulling off the driveway and heading home.</p><p>When he steps inside the house, he's surprised to see his mom on the kitchen. She has a bottle of whiskey out and a glass half empty. Taeyong doesn't see it at first seeing as the room is dimly lit, but when he steps closer and drops his backpack on the counter, his mother's eyes are red and puffy. He sets his palm on his mom's wrist, willing her to look at him.</p><p>"Mom, what's wrong?" He doesn't get an answer for a few moments before his mom is pulling him into a tight embrace.</p><p>"Your father and I are getting a divorce," his mom says through the hug. Taeyong's eyes water at his mothers' words, but he wills his tears away. He'd want to be strong for her after all she's been through. Running her own company as the only heir must have been exhausting, and his father wasn't exactly the easiest man to be around with. Truth be told he's barely even there, and he has a feeling his father is intimidated at his mother's success with the company. So after dealing with the pressure of keeping Lee Co. on top, marrying a good for nothing husband all the while raising him, he thinks his mother needs a break. So he becomes strong for her. He pats her back as the sobs rack her body, while his eyes stay dry and distant.</p><p>That night when he makes sure his mom is fast asleep in the master's bedroom after a lot of crying, he lets himself feel the pain of losing a father who wasn't even there in the first place. He thinks he has no right to cry, sons who have a closer bond with their fathers have went through worse. This was nothing, he barely even said a word to the man and he thinks it's stupid to be crying over someone he barely knows. But somewhere, some part of him had hoped to be closer to him. Maybe he was holding on to that sliver of hope that someday they'll treat each other like father and son, and now that hope was just taken away from him. Like a rug pulled abruptly from where he stands, and now he's left on his knees, tending to his wounds alone.</p><p>--</p><p>The next time Jaehyun sees Taeyong is when he's sending the council work he's done at home to the office. Jaehyun's been missing him everytime he goes, but not this time. He makes sure he's there when Taeyong drops off his work, this time to apologize. He's been feeling shitty after what he did and he admits he did cross a line. This whole time their 'war' has been going on they've always made attacks on each other that involve their academics, and he had no business involving any of their friends into that mess.</p><p>Taeyong enters the room and Jaehyun stops typing in his laptop. Taeyong looks like shit. He looks like he hasn't slept in days and he's getting a lot thinner than he previously was. The folders and papers in his hands look heavy on his frail arms and Jaehyun stands up to help the other, but the latter just shrugs his hand away and sets the folders and stack of papers on the oak table. Jaehyun is about to say something when Taeyong turns to leave.</p><p>"Taeyong," he calls but the other doesn't stop in his tracks, beelining for the exit. Jaehyun grabs the other's arm, successfully turning him around to face him.</p><p>"What do you want," he deadpans, no humor or any emotion in his voice as he looks back at him.</p><p>"I wanted to apologize."</p><p>"You're forgiven." Taeyong doesn't say another word before he's leaving, grabbing for the doorknob but Jaehyun stands in front of his way.</p><p>"I'm not in the mood," Taeyong pushes him out of the way. Taeyong is about to twist the doorknob open when Jaehyun blurts out, "You should stay away from Baekhyun-hyung." The room is silent before Taeyong bursts into a fit of laughter. Like he's been told the funniest joke in his entire life. Jaehyun just stares at him. He looks like a madman laughing over what he just said. He doesn't understand what's so funny about it.</p><p>Taeyong wipes his eyes, hands on his tummy when he says, "You sound just like my father." Jaehyun senses he's about to leave again, so he grabs at his wrist, his grip firm and begging. "Taeyong."</p><p>The last slivers of Taeyong's sanity seem to slip from his head when Jaehyun sees him clenching his eyes shut, his lips quivering. There are suddenly tears falling from his eyes, and Jaehyun panics. What did he do?<br/>He grabs Taeyong by the shoulder, lightly shaking him to ask what's wrong before Taeyong wrenches his grip off him and looks at him menacingly.</p><p>"You think you can just tell me what to do?" His tone is vicious through the tears falling from his eyes. Jaehyun has never seen him look so broken, and his heart clenches.</p><p>"What gives you the right to tell me what to do, huh? Are you my father? Are you gonna leave me too?!" Taeyong is yelling by now, his voice cracking and reverberating throughout the whole room.</p><p>"I never asked anything of you. I never stood in your way, I did everything you told me to. And for what?" Taeyong steps closer as he takes a step back. Jaehyun looks back at the broken boy in front of him and his heart wrenches at the sight. "You've left me in the end! You never cared about me or mother! You never cared about anyone but yourself!" Taeyong is flailing now, and he has to keep him in place or else he'll hurt himself.</p><p>Jaehyun grabs at his arms, but the other is suddenly smashing his fists on his chest whilst letting out loud sobs. "Let go of me! You don't deserve mom! You don't deserve anything she's ever sacrificed for you!" Jaehyun has his arms around the other now, completely embracing him and tightening his hold. Taeyong continues to cry in his hold, his sobs getting louder as his hug gets tighter. Jaehyun shushes his cries, his one hand stroking his hair while the other rubs soothing circles on his back.</p><p>He doesn't know for how long Taeyong has been holding this in. He doesn't even know if he recognizes that he's not his dad right now. He's gone completely bonkers and snapped at him like he was his dad. He must have been going through this alone and holding it in for so long, so he lets him find solace in his embrace, even if just for a few minutes. Jaehyun doesn't say a word the whole time. His heart clenching everytime a sob racks the other's body and he hiccups through his cries. He just wants to hold him in his embrace for as long as he can, until he's not hurting anymore. Until he's taken all the hurt away and made it his. Jaehyun doesn't ever want to see Taeyong hurting again, and there's no force on earth that can stop him from protecting Lee Taeyong from hurting.</p><p>--</p><p>Taeyong does his council work at the office the next day. They don't talk. About what happened the day before or any of that, they don't talk at all. Taeyong stays longer at the office than he usually does. He busies himself with advance studying for lessons, some of them even a semester away. Other times he's so spaced out that the committee members have to call his attention themselves in the middle of a meeting. He loses his energy for everything he had been fighting for his whole life, and he doesn't know where to go from there. He doesn't know if he even wants to go to college anymore, let alone SNU. After all, it was his father who wanted so bad for him to go to said college. It's like everything he's worked for has been thrown out the window.<br/><br/>When night comes, the world feels somehow lonelier to his eyes. The dark caving in on the confines of his chest and his body feels heavier to carry. He doesn't have the energy for anything.<br/><br/>Jaehyun is with him throughout it. Not really <em>with</em> him, but he's there physically. He doesn't give him a hard time at council work anymore. He stays extra longer at nights when he thinks the other doesn't want to go home yet and he does his homework at the office instead of going home early. Sometimes he drops Taeyong off at his place even if that means 40 extra minutes of traveling from Jongno-gu to Seongbuk-go. They barely talk through it all, as if there's a silent agreement that Jaehyun is to do all these things without Taeyong asking him to. Jaehyun doesn't mind, because he feels partly at fault for Taeyong's pain. And maybe, some part of him just really wants Taeyong to stop hurting, for him to be okay again.<br/><br/>It's 8:30 p.m. when Jaehyun glances at the grandfather clock, and he rubs at his eyes tiredly. The school guard will be here soon doing his rounds before he closes the gates in 30 minutes. He stuffs his belongings in his backpack before walking to where the other is, nestled in the couch on the far corner of the office. His coat covering his lower body, eyes closed, and fast asleep. He frowns when he sees the other's brow furrowing while he sleeps.<br/><br/>Jaehyun crouches down to get a better look at his face. He grimaces when he sees that his jaw is slightly quivering, so he decides to wake Taeyong up from his nightmare.<br/><br/>Taeyong jolts awake when his hand settles on his shoulder to wake him up, eyes frantic and searching the entire room before they land on his.<br/><br/>"Hey, hey. I'm here," The look of panic slowly dissipates from his face. Jaehyun likes to think the sight of him slightly calmed him down. He looks back at Taeyong's orbs, searching for something. Something... Jaehyun himself doesn't know of. All these years of trying to destroy the boy in front of him, but tonight, the sight of him devastated is making his heart wrench painfully. He can't fathom how he even thought of those abhorrent plans. How he used people to destroy Lee Taeyong when all he wants now is to protect him.<br/><br/>Jaehyun doesn't know what urges him to do it, but the next thing he knows, his hand is on top of Taeyong's. He takes his palm and holds it firmly, hoping he gets his message across.<br/><br/><em>I'm here. I'm here for you.</em><br/><br/>Jaehyun doesn't remember anything else that came after that, because suddenly Taeyong's free hand is on his cheek and he's leaning closer until he feels the other's lips touching his. His heart almost bursts at the sensation, along with the butterflies that explode in his stomach. He hasn't felt anything like this before, not with anyone in his life.<br/><br/>Taeyong's lips mold perfectly with his, and it feels like he's fucking flying. If he had known kissing Lee Taeyong would feel this good, he would've done it years ago.<br/><br/>The other breaks the kiss before it could escalate into something else. Taeyong's cheeks are dusted pink and he guesses his are too. He's slightly out of breath despite the kiss being only a few seconds long. He thinks that's the effect Lee Taeyong has on him. He smiles at the thought and stares at their intertwined hands. The urge to kiss them has him nipping at the inside of his cheeks, but Taeyong beats him to it, planting a soft peck where their hands meet.<br/><br/>They both laugh at the gesture. All those years of trying to bring each other down, lying, manipulating, cheating, all leading up to this moment. They <em>are</em> just stupid teenagers after all.</p><p>--</p><p>"What?" </p><p>"It makes sense, Doyoungie. I've never really... thought about it before but maybe college isn't for me, you know? Taking a year off will help me figure things out..." Taeyong trails off at the thought. He's not sure if this is the right decision, but going to school everyday and not feeling himself isn't exactly the best option either. </p><p>Doyoung stops in his tracks, and so does he. There aren't many people left in the hallways since it was starting to get dark, most of the students already on their way home. Taeyong turns to face his best friend, his gaze is understanding but he sees more worry than anything else in his eyes. </p><p>"I know how much of a big deal your parents' divorce is to you but... I don't know Taeyong, I feel like you'll be more disadvantaged if you take a whole year off." </p><p>Taeyong smiles, he's so lucky to have this person as his best friend. "Yeah but I'd rather that than fail my classes, you know? I still wanna go here. Just not now," Taeyong walks ahead of the other, strolling down the hallways quietly while his best friend ponders on his answer. They're silent for the rest of the walk until they bump into a certain Jung Jaehyun on his way home himself. Taeyong assumes he's just gotten out of football practice, judging from the wet hair and gym bag on his hands. </p><p>"Hey," he greets, to which Doyoung replies, "Hey, asshole." His best friend smiles sarcastically at the latter. Right, Doyoung still hates the other for dragging them into his plan at the party. </p><p>"I've been meaning to talk to you, Doyoung. I'm really sorry for what I did and-" </p><p>"Apologize to Taeyong first and maybe I'll consider accepting yours," the air is silent for a moment before Taeyong joins in on the conversation. </p><p>"He already has," he and Jaehyun exchange gazes before his eyes land on his best friend, who has a brow cocked in his way. Doyoung will probably <em>never</em> believe what transpired between the two of them for the past weeks. He'll probably kill him too, for letting Jung Jaehyun off the hook like that as if years of scheming against him was only worth one punch to the face. </p><p>"Yeah, well... We'll be having another practice on Friday. It'd be great if you guys could come," Jaehyun directs the question to Taeyong, but the latter gives him a look because Doyoung is <em>right there. </em></p><p>"I m-mean since Yuta will be there and all," he diverts his attention to Doyoung, trying to signal that no, he doesn't want Lee Taeyong to watch him practice <em>specifically</em>.  He was just inviting people in general, because he's the student council president and he has to be friendly. It'd be great if them team gets a larger audience too. Maybe that'll hype the boys up and boost their game. </p><p>"After the stunt you pulled? I think Taeyong and I would rather dunk our heads in a washing machine than watch you run around the field fighting over a ball." </p><p>"And besides, Yuta and I aren't on speaking terms yet."  Doyoung sashays his way past Jaehyun, lightly bumping on his shoulder for the effect. Taeyong sighs, giving Jaehyun a light drug before following his best friend. He tends to be more dramatic than he is when he wants to. </p><p>Taeyong jogs to Doyoung, leaving Jaehyun behind both of them. He glances back to see the other whip his head away frontward, having been caught in the act of staring at him. The corner of his lips pulls up in a smirk. The both of them weren't even trying to hide the tension. </p><p>"So you've both finally caved in on your sexual tension, huh?" Doyoung jeers, eyes forward and not even looking at him.</p><p>"What?" He asks dumbly, trying to pacify the last remains of his pride. </p><p>"Unlike you both, I'm not stupid." </p><p>Taeyong keeps his head down in shame. Maybe this isn't the best thing that's happened to him, at least not in his best friend's opinion. The way he sees it, Doyoung probably doesn't want Jaehyun for him after what he's done. </p><p>"You slut," Taeyong looks up at the words. His best friend has an unreadable expression plastered on. "You've already had sex with him didn't you!" Doyoung's expression shifts in a span of 2 seconds and he squeals in excitement while Taeyong tries to shut him up. Screaming about sex in the hallways probably wasn't the best way to get off school for a year. </p><p>"I knew it! I knew you two had something for each other. I mean, not that everyone didn't already know but oh my god it's finally happening!"</p><p>"Will you shut up! Some people are still in here," Taeyong glances around in shame. They're almost at the gates now and there are seniors gathering near the entrance. </p><p>"So did you?!"</p><p>"What?" </p><p>"Have sex already!"</p><p>"No!" </p><p>"Boo!"</p><p>"Hey, Taeyong. Doyoung," Taeyong startles when Baekhyun stands right in front of them. He's beaming at the both of them, and Taeyong has to take a step back not to get blinded by the sight.</p><p>"Hey hyung, are you all going somewhere?" he glances toward the gates again where he sees most of Baekhyun's friends. </p><p>"Yeah, our class just finished a statistics quiz for last period so we're heading to an internet cafe. You can come with if you want," Taeyong glances in Doyoung's direction, remembering they still have to work on a project due the same week.</p><p>"Ah, we really can't. I need to finish three essays tonight."</p><p>"That's a shame, I was meaning to talk to you. You know, to apologize," Baekhyun's tone drops, showing how ashamed he was of what happened at the party. </p><p>"Well, I'm free tomorrow." Baekhyun's smile is back on his face as soon as he says this.</p><p>"Great, after classes then? At the cafe two blocks away?"</p><p>"Sure," Taeyong nods before the other is bidding goodbye. He turns to his best friend who's giving him yet another look. Taeyong's getting tired of this look if he was being honest. </p><p>"So what about Baekhyun-hyung?"</p><p>"What <em>about </em>Baekhyun-hyung?"</p><p>"Oh come on, we both know you had a thing for him at some point."</p><p>"I don't like him like that anymore... I think,"</p><p>"Well, you know what I think? I don't think you should let Valentine Boy off so easily," Doyoung shrugs. </p><p>"I mean you should test him, you know. Make him work for it. It's only fair after what he made you go through."</p><p>Taeyong thinks it over for a minute, but doesn't even know why he's considering it in the first place. They should be over the immature phase already. He's somehow different from the old him now, and he doesn't think 'making Jaehyun work for it' is a good choice. What the hell is 'it' even? Taeyong rolls his eyes, willing the thought away from his head.</p><p>When Doyoung gets home that night, he asks for Jaehyun's number from Yuta to which the other replies, <em>I hope you're not replacing me with him. </em>He mentally slaps himself at the dumbassery, before assuring him no, he's not replacing him with Taeyong's boyfriend. Yuta squeals at the newfound information and sends Jaehyun's number. He lets Yuta explain himself after that, and when they get over the misunderstandings they proceed onto their plan of teasing the living daylights out of their best friends who supposedly 'hated' each other. But not before Doyoung sends a text to Jaehyun, informing him of Taeyong's plans for college. If he didn't listen to him, maybe he will at his new boyfriend. </p><p>--</p><p>Taeyong's plans of getting off early gets thrown out the window when Taeyong is at the council office the next day and Jaehyun is acting like a toddler over him leaving early. </p><p>"My share of work is done, what more do you want from me?" The latter isn't even looking at him, skimming through folders and folders of paper in the file cabinet.</p><p>"You have to help Jisung and the others with council adviser reports. And I need the list of-"</p><p>"We both know you don't need that list until next week," the other finally turns around to face him.</p><p>"And Jisung can do the reports by himself just fine," Jaehyun just looks at him for a moment, not a word exchanged between the two of  them as he crosses his arms in front of his chest.</p><p>"I know about your plans for college," his tone drops. </p><p>"How did y-"</p><p>"Don't do it." He cocks an eyebrow, ultimately challenging the other. </p><p>"Is that an order? You're ordering me right now," Taeyong scoffs in disbelief. They kiss <em>one time </em>and Jaehyun suddenly thinks he owns him. </p><p>"Just don't do it," Jaehyun doesn't say anything after that, and just walks past him to his desk. Taeyong can't believe what he's hearing. If he had known the other would still be so childish after what happened between them, he wouldn't have let it happen in the first place.</p><p>"Fuck this," he spits before swinging his backpack over his shoulder and stomping out of the office. </p><p>Jaehyun doesn't follow after him. </p><p>--</p><p>"I'm glad you could come, seeing as you're busier than me these days." Baekhyun sets the two cups of coffee down their table. Taeyong opts for a latte, while Baekhyun orders an Americano. The wind is cold outside, and he's still slightly shivering having just gotten inside the coffee shop. </p><p>"Yeah well, extracurriculars are being a bitch lately," Taeyong sets both his palms on the sides of the cup, effectively warming his hands. The smell of caffeine surges through his senses, numbing his nerves. His hyung lets out a soft laugh before replying, "I'll cut to the chase then. I'm really sorry for ditching you that day, but..." he sighs before shifting in his seat.</p><p>"I can't really say I'm mad at Jaehyun for giving me and Taeyeon a chance to talk, even if it was a part of his plan to get back at you." He chuckles. </p><p>"I take it you and Taeyeon-noona are back together, then?" Baekhyun nods at the question.</p><p>Taeyong takes a sip of his coffee. He surprisingly doesn't feel the need to bawl his eyes out at the information. He always thought he liked his hyung too much to ever confess to him, but now he's glad he never did. Because he never really liked him like that, he only admired him as a senior who has achieved so much in the span of 4 years since attending Seoul Science High. And as much as that party made him furious beyond words, he's glad Taeyeon and him could talk after so long. </p><p>"I've been wanting to tell you but Jaehyun won't tell me anything regarding your schedule. Says you were mad at me as much as you were at him."</p><p>"He said that?"</p><p>"Yeah, that's why I was kind of hesitant to approach you." They laugh at their own stupidity. Taeyong looks over to Bakehyun, the latter has not lost his effect on him yet. He still greatly admires him, and he probably will for the rest of his life, but that's all there is gonna be. Baekhyun is his senior, and he admires him greatly. </p><p>"Well I hope you're ready to deal with Jung Jaehyun until you graduate college seeing as you both want to take up business, and wanna go to the same university." </p><p>"About that, I'm not going to college." Taeyong gives a sheepish smile to which the older gapes at him.</p><p>"But you've been working so hard for SNU, you and Jaehyun were so close to killing each other for that."</p><p>"Yeah but... I don't know I just," he pauses, thinking if he should let the other know of what's really going on inside his head.</p><p>"It was my father who wanted me to go to SNU. I don't really see the point in going now that he's gone," his hyung studies him for a minute before speaking up.</p><p>"Well maybe you don't need to go to SNU specifically. Just because your father was the reason you wanted to go there, doesn't mean you have to ditch college overall now that he's gone. Maybe a different college would work for you," the older brings his cup up to take a sip.</p><p>Taeyong contemplates the idea for a second. Maybe his hyung has a point. Now that he thinks about it, him taking up business was his father's idea too. His mom never wanted to hinder him of his college plans, she was always there to support him whatever career path he wanted to take.</p><p>Taeyong smiles at his hyung, a genuine smile. It's starting to click now, and he hasn't felt this kind of relief flood his body in a long time. It's like a big boulder was lifted off his shoulders, like he was deprived of breathing for so long and now he's finally getting a breath of fresh air and peace of mind. He doesn't know why it hasn't occurred to him this whole time. But now it has, and now he knows what to do. </p><p></p><div>
  <p>--</p>
</div><div>
  <p>When Taeyong gets home that night, the living room lights are glaringly bright it's almost screaming at him. In the middle of the couch sits a tall brunette whose elbows are on his knees.</p>
  <p>Jaehyun whips his head around when he hears the door click, and he stands from where he's seated. Taeyong sets his backpack on a nearby chair before approaching the other. The other's his hair is slightly disheveled, his uniform  slightly crumpled and the first two buttons open. Taeyong takes in the sight of Jaehyun in his living room as he stands in front of him.</p>
  <p>"Your mom let me in, told her I was a friend." Taeyong laughs, Jaehyun is adorably stupid.</p>
  <p>"Listen, I wanted to apologize for earlier. I went completely out of line and I shouldn't have said that." He's fidgeting now, and Taeyong finds it incredibly endearing. He steps closer so they're standing in the middle of the living room now, the bright chandelier shining on top of them like a spotlight. </p>
</div><div>
  <p>"But I still think you should go to SNU." Taeyong giggles. </p>
</div><div>
  <p>"I went to see Baekhyun-hyung today," Taeyong starts. There's a sudden change of expression on the other's face, like that of a puppy being kicked after being fed his favorite treat. </p>
</div><div>
  <p>"Oh," the latter lets out before turning to grab for his backpack. "I-I shouldn't have come then. I'm sorry," before he could go though, Taeyong has his hand on his arm pulling him back.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>"Let me finish, you bonehead." Jaehyun drops his backpack on the couch before looking back at him. </p>
</div><div>
  <p>"He made me realize something," Taeyong drops his gaze, staring at the marbled floor. "I only ever did want to go to SNU because of my father, the same is true for me wanting to take up business," he shifts his gaze to look back at Jaehyun's eyes. </p>
</div><div>
  <p>"It dawned on me that I only wanted to go to SNU because of him. But now, I don't really wanna go to SNU anymore, nor do I wanna take business," Taeyong takes Jaehyun's hands in his, his thumbs drawing circles on his skin. </p>
</div><div>
  <p>"I'm not going to SNU, and I'm not going to take a year off of high school. I wanna take up law, and I wanna go to Korea University." Taeyong sees the other's face light up at his statement. </p>
</div><div>
  <p>Jaehyun lets out a relieved sigh, a laugh escaping his lips. "That's good, that's great." They're both overwhelmed with emotions. Taeyong laughs at the whole ordeal. He feels absolutely elated to have Jung Jaehyun in his living room at 10 in the evening with the chandelier gleaming down at them. </p>
</div><div>
  <p>"You'll be fine, you'll be so great." Jaehyun's eyes are tearing up now, and he wants to coo at the sight. He feels his overwhelming happiness and relief from where he stands. His heart is doing leaps in his chest and he can feel his pulse throughout his body, that the next thing he knows, he's tiptoeing to match the taller's height and leaning in for a kiss. </p>
</div><div>
  <p>The kiss was innocent, brief and full of raw emotion. But for a hot minute, Taeyong regrets his decision because now Jaehyun is looking back at him like he's just seen a ghost. He's so shocked that he's frozen over. </p>
</div><div>
  <p>"I-I'm sorry I probably should've asked y-" Taeyong effectively shuts up when Jaehyun presses his lips to him this time. Jaehyun's hands are at his waist now, pulling him closer and pressing their bodies together, tongues dancing in a beautiful rhythm. Taeyong sets his palm on Jaehyun's neck, the other tangling in his hair while Jaehyun's climbs up to his cheek. </p>
</div><div>
  <p>The room is getting hotter as their kiss starts to get deeper and their bodies press closer. Jaehyun is suddenly backing up to the couch, and he sits down with Taeyong in his lap, not breaking the kiss. Taeyong grabs for the buttons of his uniform before Jaehyun's hand stops him. They break the kiss at this, foreheads touching and breaths mingling as they're panting. </p>
</div><div>
  <p>"Your mom is right upstairs," Jaehyun comments. Taeyong giggles, like Jaehyun getting embarrassed that they're making out at his house with his mom nearby isn't the cutest thing ever.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>"You know, of all people, it was Baekhyun-hyung that made you realize all that. I'm kind of mad." Taeyong chortles. Of course Jaehyun would voice his jealousy right after a make-out session. He draws comforting circles on the other's neck, gazing into his eyes before he lifts himself off his lap and settles onto the couch next to him. </p>
</div><div>
  <p>"I haven't gotten any sleep in days," he says before his head is falling on Jaehyun's lap. He settles in comfortably while the taller treads his hands through his hair, lulling him to sleep. </p>
</div><div>
  <p>That night they both fall asleep to the sound of each other's breathing, as the cascades of the bright chandelier dim into a hum. Taeyong can feel his heart beating steadily on his chest, warm, content, and complete. He has Jung Jaehyun all to himself, and his heart cannot be fuller. </p>
</div><div>
  <p>--</p>
</div><div class="adL">
  <p>Taeyong absolutely hates Jung Jaehyun – captain of the football team, heir to JJ Holdings, and well, his boyfriend. Tall, white, and handsome, athletic, intelligent, and born on valentine’s day. The bastard had to bag everything in <em>his</em> dream boy checklist. To his defense, he isn’t plainly hating him just for having it all. Jung Jaehyun has been nothing but a pain in the ass since he realized he's abso-fucking-lutely gorgeous. He can't keep his eyes off him when he's running around on the field fighting over a stupid ball. The way his hair sways in the wind when he takes his helmet off, and the way his muscles flex when he's aiming for a long shot, arms thrown back over his shoulders and throwing the ball viciously. </p>
</div><div class="adL">
  <p>But what Taeyong loves more than all of those combined is the way his eyes shine when he's looking at him, and the way his dimples appear when he's smiling at his antics, or the way his laugh reverberates through the walls of the room and his jittery hands when they hold his, his palms sweaty and a little clammy. Taeyong loves it all, and he cannot get enough. </p>
</div><div class="adL">
  <p> </p>
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  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>thank you guys so much for reading! feel free to follow me on twitter @jaehyuniversity and ask me on my cc: https://curiouscat.me/jaehyuniversity</p><p>a comment/kudos would be highly appreciated 💚<br/>#HappyTaeyongDay!  💚</p></blockquote></div></div>
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